Before the world heard of “sport utility vehicles,” they were called trucks: Jeeps, Land Rovers and Fords, many born as military vehicles, as square-jawed and capable as a drill sergeant.
For decades, though, consumers gravitated to so-called crossover S.U.V.s, built on the bones of passenger cars, with soft curves and gentler manners suited to suburban lifestyles.
But now, in the cyclical way that the padded shoulders of the 1980s are on today’s Paris runways, a right-angled style has become a leading trend even among mainstream S.U.V.s. And a new wave of rugged electric off-roaders is defying the old fuel-guzzling formula.
The signature boxy style of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class has helped make it a global status symbol, driven by celebrities such as Drake, Simone Biles and Kim Kardashian, or by Russian oligarchs in armored trim. The Land Rover Defender, Britain’s postwar answer to the Jeep, has enjoyed a global sales resurgence after its star turn on the Netflix show “The Crown.” Toyota’s redesigned Land Cruiser traces its roots to a model the company conceived in 1950 to back up America’s Jeeps on the Korean Peninsula.
Critics may dismiss these trucks as Tonka toys for city slickers who rarely muddy their wheels. But as traditional cars fade, including luxury sedans, S.U.V.s with genuine heritage and all-terrain skills have never been more popular.
“You’ve got a number of folks who loved these vehicles, and then they kind of disappeared,” said Alexander Edwards, president of Strategic Vision, a market research company. “As Hollywood could tell you, nostalgia can generate big revenues, if it’s done authentically.”
The Ford Bronco, a canny update to a charming ’60s-era surf wagon and four-by-four, generated 190,000 orders at its 2021 debut. Paul Wraith, the British chief designer of the Bronco, said its rectilinear forms were rooted in traditional function, including an upright windshield and short body overhangs for climbing perilous grades and obstacles without damage. Like the original, the Ford features easy-to-remove doors and roof panels for open-air fun.
“That appearance is the “U” in S.U.V.,” Mr. Wraith said.
The ‘Van Life’ Effect
With the steel frames of pickup trucks, fuel-thirsty engines and bare-bones cabins, these outdoorsy models once seemed antiquated compared with car-based S.U.V.s. For instance, the Jeep Wrangler, the scion of heroic World War II Jeeps, was struggling in the mid-2000s. But by 2018, sales tripled, to 240,000 units, as the Jeep became more versatile and civilized. A plug-in hybrid Wrangler is among today’s top-selling versions.
Several mainstream S.U.V.s are now playing up traditional truck looks, adopting sharper creases and a more-rugged vibe. Sales of the Toyota RAV4 have risen since it adopted a brawnier design in 2019. That included 475,000 buyers in 2024, more than any S.U.V. in America. The 2024 Hyundai Santa Fe ditched generic curves for a boxy silhouette that cribs shamelessly from Land Rover, winning sales and critical plaudits.
Experts say some buyers grew bored of crossovers, whose generic curves made them easy to lose in a parking lot. By contrast, these trucks are identifiable from 50 yards away.
Another factor was the pandemic, which set off an explosion of interest in hiking, biking and other outdoor pursuits, Mr. Edwards said. Work-at-home Americans migrated from big cities and had time, money and a renewed interest in splurging on recreational vehicles, including vans for “van life” travel and these four-wheel-drive trucks.
If modern cars are becoming smartphones on wheels, these S.U.V.s are chunky rotary-dial models: analog, tactile and comfortingly familiar. Despite offering the latest creature comforts, they tend to be light on screens. Many play up old-school physical controls that other cars have jettisoned: industrial-strength shift levers, oversized knobs designed for larger hands, outdoorsy materials and utilitarian design cues. Many consumers, fed up with digital overload, say they would like those controls back.
‘Masculine, but Not Overly Aggressive’
If any model symbolizes the ultimate victory of the S.U.V., Mr. Edwards said, it is the Mercedes G-Class, or Geländewagen. Built in Austria, it was conceived in 1979 as an unpretentious military or farm truck.
Mercedes didn’t initially offer the G-Class in America, and a gray market of imports stoked demand. The federal government cut off imports in 1987, making the Mercedes three tons of forbidden fruit. The automaker finally brought the model stateside in 2003, where it evolved into a sumptuous luxury S.U.V. that can still perform off-road.
Jessica Hart, founder of the Luma Beauty brand, and a former model, adores the G-Wagen she bought when she moved to Los Angeles, after 17 car-free years in New York. She has the AMG G 63, a prized version from Mercedes’s performance division.
“The boxy design is masculine, but not overly aggressive,” said Ms. Hart, who grew up around farms in Australia with the nation’s iconic “utes” oddball mash-ups of a sports sedans and pickup trucks.
“I’m a bit of a rev-head, so the engine is worth it for me,” Ms. Hart said.
The G-Class has managed to clamber over the S-Class, the limo-like sedan that had been Mercedes’s benchmark brand, in both sales and image. Mercedes sold nearly 11,000 G-Classes last year, quadruple its sales from a decade ago. S-Class sales continued to wither, down 25 percent last year from the year before, to 8,800 cars. The explosive sales gains of the G-Class seem more striking in light of its average price, $192,000, according to surveys conducted by Strategic Vision, compared with $131,000 for a typical S-Class.
“G-Class buyers don’t even blink at the price,” Mr. Edwards said.
Among all G-Class owners surveyed, the median household income was $827,000, and 42 percent cited income of more than $1 million. That is nearly double the $425,000 for S-Class households. (Luxury-car buyers overall report $182,000 in household income.)
For all its sales and cultural success — including being the Pope’s longtime ride — the G-Wagen’s brazen attitude and social connotations also make it a conspicuous target. Critics deride it as a safari-clad cosplayer, a serious truck reduced to a lifestyle accessory.
Mercedes executives acknowledge that only a small percentage of G-Class owners venture off-road. But experts say all these models must protect their bona fides. Outdoors fans who rely on four-wheel-drive trucks are keenly attuned to their capabilities, and pounce on models viewed as pretenders.
“If these vehicles couldn’t climb a speed bump, and handle off-road driving, they would be dismissed,” Mr. Edwards said. “If the truck is a poser, then I’m a poser.”
Ms. Hart has taken her Mercedes off-roading at Sonoma Raceway. But she knows that when spiffed up, the S.U.V. also makes a citified social statement. Weeks ago, Ms. Hart installed new forged wheels on her baby, in a custom shade of lavender to match her Phoebe Philo handbag that she’d obsessed over.
“My G-Wagen is also like jewelry, an extension of you and your personal style,” she said.
Some nostalgic models are now going electric, aiming to boost off-road skills without running roughshod over the environment. Mercedes’s electric 2025 G-Class can wade through 34-inch-deep water, and spin in place like a military tank. Range Rover and Jeep are readying battery-powered models. General Motors’ GMC Hummers have switched to electric power, seeking to rehabilitate a tarnished image. And Tesla’s polarizing Cybertruck is a crudely triangulated take on the boxy formula.
Volkswagen Group’s partnership with the Silicon Valley start-up Rivian underscores what’s at stake in this lucrative market. The leading-edge technology of Rivian’s electric “adventure trucks” led VW to take a 50 percent stake in a new $5.8 billion joint venture. VW also plans to integrate Rivian’s technology into an ambitious revival of the Scout brand, long-defunct trucks built by International Harvester. The strategy seems clear: With no American off-road heritage of its own, VW is looking to buy one instead.
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